Preventing and Tackling Extremism and Hate Crime: Protecting and Building Cohesive Communities
The murder of Lee Rigby in June 2013 brought the violent extremism agenda back to the fore. The aftermath has seen a rise in anti-muslim attacks see in the West Midlands and in North London but this is something that has been on successive government’s radars for a long time.
But this attack has raised questions over the evolution of terrorism and radicalisation in the UK. The increase usage of the internet in promoting and creating networks which exacerbate extremism has created new challenges those working to prevent extremism of all kinds.
The Prevent strand of the Government’s Counter Terrorism strategy aims to reach the people that are vulnerable to radicalisation. Empowering and supporting those communities where this threat is most acute is essential. Taking an interventionist approach to this is one way of stemming the rise in violence and hatred against.
This being said the recent rise in far-right groups like the English Defence League means that the government and its partners has now got to focus Prevent on a much wider group. And with the decrease in direct and indirect expenditure in this area it is important the Prevent strategy is both effective, far reaching and provides value for money.
With these key issues in mind this important and informative policy briefing will take a look at the new challenges and how best to tackle radicalisation, build community cohesion and stop hate crime.